US arrests suspect in connection with Tumbler Ridge school shooting

The suspect, from the western state of Washington, allegedly gave money and advice to the attacker over the internet.

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Staff2026-10-06 21:28查看原文 ↗

The suspect, from the western state of Washington, allegedly gave money and advice to the attacker over the internet.

Workers install a fence around a makeshift memorial on February 12, two days after a deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Canada [File: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters]

Law enforcement in the northwestern United States have charged a suspect in connection with a deadly shooting at a Canadian school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.

On Tuesday, prosecutors charged 30-year-old James Cody Bryant, a resident of Washington state, with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.

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Bryant allegedly provided money and technical advice to the attacker in conversations over the internet, starting six months before the February 10 attack.

The shooting was “a horrific tragedy for that small community and for all of Canada”, acting US Attorney Neil Floyd said at a news conference in Seattle. “Indeed, here in the Pacific Northwest, we felt the pain of those families devastated by this violence.”

Canadian officials have described the attack as one of the country’s worst mass shootings.

The suspect, 18-year-old transgender woman Jesse Van Rootselaar, shot and killed her mother and half-brother at their home before travelling to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and opening fire .

Six people were killed, including five students, and 27 other victims were injured. Van Rootselaar, a former student at the school, died by suicide at the end of the attack.

Police in Canada said at the time that Van Rootselaar had a history of mental health issues.

Alleged online advice and financial support

US prosecutors allege Bryant and Van Rootselaar had been in touch through the social media service Discord and had discussed how to carry out the mass shooting.

The pair discussed how to maximise notoriety after the attack, with Bryant allegedly agreeing to livestream it through Twitch, Floyd said on Tuesday.

Bryant also allegedly provided money for items like a pair of shoes for the attack and instructed Van Rootselaar on how to start and then drive a car to reach the school.

Prosecutors alleged Bryant, whom officials cited by The Associated Press and Reuters say identifies as female, had admitted to investigators that she was “maybe the only one who could have stopped the shooter”.

Warning signs ignored

In September, the British Columbia government sued the technology company OpenAI in a California court, saying its ChatGPT platform played a role in the shooting.

Van Rootselaar, the Canadian officials alleged, had been flagged by OpenAI’s safety team for her statements about gun violence, and her account had been suspended. But law enforcement authorities were not alerted to the problem.

In its lawsuit, British Columbia sought financial compensation from the company to cover its emergency response to the shooting and community recovery efforts.

It also asked the court to force OpenAI to reform how it identifies and handles users who threaten violence.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he was “deeply sorry” his company had not contacted law enforcement in a public letter two months after the shooting.

“While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered,” he wrote, adding that OpenAI would take steps to prevent such “tragedies” in the future.

The lawsuit filed in California alleges Altman’s company never undertook the promised policy changes.

By the time of the filing, OpenAI was facing more than 30 other lawsuits in California, where it is based, from victims’ families, survivors and others affected by the Tumbler Ridge attack over alleged negligence.

据称，这名来自美国西部华盛顿州的嫌疑人通过互联网向袭击者提供金钱和建议。

2月12日，在加拿大坦布勒里奇发生致命的大规模枪击事件两天后，工人们在临时纪念碑周围安装围栏。[图片：Jennifer Gauthier/路透社]

美国西北部执法部门已对一名嫌疑人提起诉讼，该嫌疑人与加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省图姆布勒里奇一所学校发生的致命枪击案有关。

周二，检察官指控居住在华盛顿州的 30 岁男子詹姆斯·科迪·布莱恩特 (James Cody Bryant) 犯有在外国谋杀他人的共谋罪。

问题 1/3：人工智能公司是否应该为大规模枪击事件负责？

OpenAI 的 Sam Altman 就未能报告加拿大枪击案道歉（共 3 条记录，此为第 2 条）。

加拿大卑诗省就ChatGPT在Tumbler Ridge校园枪击案中的角色起诉OpenAI（列表3/3）

据称，布莱恩特在 2 月 10 日袭击事件发生前六个月，就开始通过互联网与袭击者进行交流，向其提供资金和技术建议。

美国代理检察官尼尔·弗洛伊德在西雅图举行的新闻发布会上表示，这起枪击事件“对那个小社区乃至整个加拿大来说都是一场可怕的悲剧”。“的确，在太平洋西北地区，我们感同身受地体会到了那些因这场暴力事件而遭受重创的家庭的痛苦。”

加拿大官员称此次袭击是该国最严重的群体枪击事件之一。

嫌疑人是 18 岁的跨性别女性杰西·范·鲁特塞拉尔，她先是在家中枪杀了她的母亲和同母异父的弟弟，然后前往 Tumbler Ridge 中学开枪射击。

袭击造成6人死亡，其中包括5名学生，另有27人受伤。范·鲁特塞拉尔是该校的一名学生，在袭击结束后自杀身亡。